California Growers May Face More Water Cuts

In a blow to growers in the San Joaquin Valley, the California State Water Resource Control Board (WRCB) released a draft proposal to update water quality requirements for salinity in the southern Delta and water flows in major tributaries to the San Joaquin River (the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and Merced rivers), which drain into the southern Delta.

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Hundreds of thousands of acre-feet of water will remain in the San Joaquin river system to protect endangered fish. Currently only 20% of the river flows unimpeded to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. With this new proposal, flow will be raised to 30% to 50%, “with a starting point of 40%,” says a WRCB news release.

The proposal also updates the current salinity objective. This salinity objective would change from the current objective that varies between 0.7 deciSiemens per meter (dS/m) in the April through August time period and 1.0 dS/m September through March, to a year-round objective of 1.0 dS/m.

The Sacramento Bee reports the proposed change in water flow would leave between 288,000 and 485,000 acre-feet of water of additional water in the river system, cutting water supplies to farmers.

Mike Wade of the California Farm Water Coalition tells The Bee growers may be forced out of business or take hundreds of thousands of acres of land out of production to cope with the drop off of water delivery.

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Public hearings on the proposal will be held on Nov. 2 and Nov. 10 in Sacramento, and Nov. 4 in the Modesto area. Comments on the draft proposal will be accepted through Nov. 15.

 

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Avatar for ken bergman ken bergman says:

Any waters not released to farms should be replaced with ocean salt water desal plant fresh water. The state should pay for.

Avatar for Dave Alden Dave Alden says:

The whole of the people in California need to strongly recommend cutting back water use for all uses including Fish. I just visited California on business this past week and there is an incredible amount of water flowing out of Shasta down the Sacramento River. I have been on the conservation district board in Washington and I know something about water and is seems to me that with no rain and many lakes and reservoirs already drained down or dry, the only good reservoir of water should be spared. I mean what if there is no moisture falling this winter? Then what? When are the officials going to wise up? California feeds the country and no one seems to put much importance on the one thing that makes that happen. WATER

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